Houston resident Aurelia Suchilt was detained two times, for more than two months each, in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities due to mistakes in bureaucratic paperwork. Iconic immigrant's rights activists Maria Jimenez (right, photo by Joshua Cogan) says women like Aurelia are leading the defense of people detained by ICE. Listen to these interviews, and more, in a radio segment

(Houston, TX) Today, public health groups blasted ExxonMobil Chemical Company for blocking new restrictions on toxic chemicals that damage children’s health and pollute local communities. Outside its corporate headquarters, protesters unveiled a giant twenty-foot rubber ducky, a favorite bath toy often made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which contains toxic chemicals known as phthalates (pronounced ‘THA-lates’), which are produced by ExxonMobil at its Baton Rouge, LA factory.

Press release from Operation People for Peace Inc. Houma, LA (October 19, 2011) - Dick Gregory-Actor/Comedian and Human rights Activist, Dr. E. Faye Williams, National Congress of Black Women-Chair, and Art Rocker, Operation People for Peace-Chair are convening a meeting with ministers, community activist, and others in Houma, Louisiana concerning the lack of payments by BP’s Ken Feinberg. This meeting will be held Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at New Rising Sun Baptist Church at 230 Saint Charles St. Houma, Louisiana 70361 with Facilitator -Rev. Byron Clay, Jr.

Lax regulations on chemicals put everyone at risk.A fast-moving, "out of control" fire erupted at the Magnablend Chemical Company in Waxahachie, Texas, this afternoon. The fire has forced the evacuation of at least one elementary school in this Dallas suburb, and the nearby Navarro College, according to news reports. Residents have been advised to stay indoors to avoid dangerous gasses.

Community groups from all over Texas are gathering to unite in opposition over the planned Keystone XL pipeline Sunday, September 18, 2011. The Canadian project reportedly cost more to construct than the value of the expensive tar sands oil it will carry from Alberta, Canada to Port Arthur and Houston, Texas.

The Manchester neighborhood in Houston is completely surrounded by Valero, Texas Recycling, a car crushing facility, the Port of Houston, Highway 610, a rail yard and a waste water treatment plant. These are two aerial photos of the Manchester community that my dad, Juan Parras, took a few years ago. The area in green is of course Manchester. The third image is a shot of the Houston Ship Channel.

By Ariella Cohen, crossposted from The Lens. In January 2002, a mound of powdery chemical catalyst used to make gasoline collapsed on a worker doing routine cleanup at the Marathon Ashland Petroleum refinery in Garyville, La.